Systems and methods to generate facility reconfiguration plans that can be used to reconfigure energy systems of facilities to achieve financial objectives

A method for generating a facility reconfiguration plan (FRP) to reconfigure an energy system of a facility to achieve a specified objective, the method comprising:

• (a) an energy model (EM) module implemented using at least one hardware processor obtaining, via a user interface and/or one or more databases, information about each of a plurality of energy system elements (ESEs) that are included in the energy system of the facility and in dependence thereon generating a characterization of the energy system of the facility and associated sources and uses of fuels prior to any modifications to the energy system of the facility;
• (b) an economic optimization model (EOM) module implemented using the at least one hardware processor
• receiving, from the EM module, the characterization of the energy system of the facility and associated sources and uses of fuels prior to any modifications to the energy system of the facility,
• computing characteristics of the energy system of the facility, prior to any modifications thereto, based on the characterization of the energy system of the facility and associated sources and uses of fuels, received by the EOM from the EM,
• determining or otherwise obtaining information regarding a plurality of potential modifications to the energy system of the facility, and
• determining, for each of the plurality of potential modifications to the energy system of the facility, an alternative configuration measure (ACM),
• wherein one or more of the ACMs corresponds to replacement of one or more of the ESEs included in the energy system of the facility prior to any modifications thereto, and
• wherein one or more further ones of the ACMs corresponds to addition of one or more ESEs not previously included in the energy system of the facility prior to any modifications thereto;
• (c) the EM module and EOM module utilizing the characterization of the energy system of the facility and associated sources and uses of fuels to determine which one of the ACMs is to be added to the FRP by,
• (c.1) the EOM module determining, for each of the ACMs not yet added to the FRP, whether the ACM provides a benefit that can be used to achieve the specified objective;
• (c.2) the EOM module determining a level of attractiveness corresponding to each ACM that provides a benefit that can be used to achieve the specified objective;
• (c.3) the EOM module identifying, as the ACM to be added to the FRP, the ACM having a greatest level of attractiveness;
• and
• (c.4) following the ACM identified at a most recent iteration of step (c.3) being added to the FRP, the EM module recomputing the characterization of the energy system of the facility, such that the recomputed characterization of the energy system of the facility accounts for changes associated with each of the one or more of the ACMs that has already added to the FRP as having actually been implemented, and the EM providing the recomputed characterization of the energy system of the facility to the EOM, thereby enabling the EOM to take into account during one or more further iterations of steps (c.1), (c.2) and (c.3) how replacements of one or more of the ESEs and additions of one or more ESEs affect one or more other ones of the ESEs;
• (d) the EM module and EOM module generating the FRP by repeating step (c) a plurality of times, wherein during each subsequent iteration of step (c) that follows an initial iteration of step (c), every ACM that was identified as providing a greatest level of attractiveness during a previous iteration of step (c), and thereby has already been added to the FRP, is accounted for as if the ACM were implemented and is removed from being a candidate for consideration as an ACM to be added to the FRP during the subsequent iteration;
• (e) determining based on results of steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) that one or more of the ESEs is/are to be replaced in the energy system of the facility and that one more ESEs is/are to be added to the energy system of the facility;
• (f) publishing the FRP to thereby identify the one or more of the ESEs to be replaced in the energy system of the facility and identify the one or more ESEs to be added the energy system of the facility;
• and
• (g) reconfiguring the energy system of the facility based on the published FRP by replacing one or more of the ESEs included in the energy system of the facility and/or by adding one or more ESEs to the energy system of the facility, wherein the ESEs being replaced and/or added are identified in the published FRP;
• wherein steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) are performed by a computer system or subsystem that includes the at least one hardware processor, and wherein the publishing the FRP comprises one or more of displaying the FRP on a display device of the computer system, producing a printout of the FRP and/or passing the FRP to another computer system or subsystem.